Sometime before noon on Monday, Highway 36 from Lyons to Estes Park will be open to motorists.

"The National Guard has been able to pave in each direction; about 1 lane going in each direction. You are going to have temporary guard rails and temporary jersey barriers," said Amy Ford with the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT).

For the last month and a half, motorists have had to use the Peak to Peak highway to get to the Front Range. It tacks on an extra hour to the drive.

"Now that it's opening up it will make it easier for a lot of people to maintain their jobs and things like that," said Neil Tenzer, a resident of Estes Park.

People who live in Estes Park refer to Highway 36 as their lifeline.

According to CDOT, about 50 percent of the highway from Estes Park to Lyons was damaged by September's floods.

CDOT is expecting the rest of the closed highways to be temporarily reopened by December 1.

A plan to permanently reconstruct Highway 36 will be created this winter. Construction could start as early as the spring.